In West Virginia, cornbread is practically an art. For my cousin, who grinds his own cornmeal, it’s almost a religion. And I’m a convert. Fresh, stone-ground cornmeal. Try it. You’ll never go back to cornmeal off the shelf again.

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Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 8

Prep Time: 5 minutes   Cook Time: 25 minutes  

Ingredients

2 slices peppered bacon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter (cut up) or oil
2 eggs
1 cup milk or buttermilk

Directions

Using a large iron skillet, fry two slices of bacon. Remove the bacon and drain to use for another purpose or crumble and stir into your cornbread mixture before baking.

In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add butter or oil, eggs, and milk or buttermilk. Stir to combine. Don’t overstir. (Sometimes more or less milk is required, depending on slight variations in measuring dry ingredients–add what you need to get a nice, thick almost pourable-but-not consistency.)

Variations: More sugar, if you want really sweet cornbread, or less sugar if you plan to add vegetables to the mixture–you can add a cup or so of diced, sauteed onions, peppers, anything that appeals to you. Add shredded cheese, or corn, or even chopped pecans. (I like it with pecans especially with a sweet, sweet cornbread mixture.)

Pour cornbread mixture into the iron skillet you used to cook the bacon in to season it with the bacon drippings. (First tip the pan all the way around, spreading the bacon drippings to grease the sides of the skillet.) Bake in a 425-oven for 20-25 minutes.

*You can skip the bacon step, if preferred. You can still bake it in a greased cast-iron skillet or in a greased 8 x 8 square baking dish or a pie pan.
Pour cornbread mixture into the iron skillet you used to cook the bacon in to season it with the bacon drippings. (First tip the pan all the way around, spreading the bacon drippings to grease the sides of the skillet.) Bake in a 425-oven for 20-25 minutes.

Categories: Breads, Other Breads

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